Standing at nearly 200 feet (60 meters) tall and just southwest of the Austrått manor entrance is an unusual four-sided pyramid. According to a few historical records, the structure was erected in 1665 by the Austrått manor’s owner Ove Bjelke in memory of his father Jens Bjelke. Ove Bjelke was one of Norway’s richest and most influential people at the time.
However, there has been debate around the date of the pyramid’s erection due to a plaque on the structure not matching the pyramid’s design. The most recent research conducted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim suggests that the pyramid was probably erected around the 1500s. There were also other buildings surrounding the pyramid that belonged to Lady Inger of Austrått.
The plaque contains texts in Latin and Danish together with Ove Bjelke’s and his three wives’ coat of arms.
